


Major Miscalculation

by Devils_Official



Series: Askbox Fics [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mostly Canon Compliant Through Season 6, Secret Relationship, Sleep Deprivation, The Paladins Are Not Heroes And You Can’t Change My Mind, War Crimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 19:43:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17535029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devils_Official/pseuds/Devils_Official
Summary: Rather than leave Lotor in the Rift, the Paladins managed to get him back to the Castleship in order to bleed him dry of information. But with Sendak attacking Earth, he could also be a valuable bargaining chip.





	Major Miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a prologue to something I’m going to write (eventually) re: the vast number of war crimes that Paladins of Voltron have committed. I just need to finish my rewatch, and I Really Don’t Want To.

Lotor was once more back in the containment cell that had been his home for several weeks before the Paladins decided to trade him back to his father.

Somehow, this time, it was worse. It could have been the fact that the cell was bare now, devoid of even the bare furnishings it’d had before. 

Or perhaps it was the concussion that still made his head pound; he could have sworn that they turned the lights all the way up, past their normal brightness (and even that had been too bright for him), and that only exacerbated the issue. 

It was probably also due to the concussion that his fight with Voltron was hazy and indistinct. How it had ended, he didn’t remember, but he’d woken up here, in this cell.

That had been hours ago, now, and of course he had no way of knowing how long he’d been out for. 

He had no idea what they were going to do to him.  They knew about the Colony’s existence, but they hadn’t heard his side of the story, and they hadn’t been inclined to listen before their battle. Surely they were even less likely to listen now. 

Still, they’d have to do something with him eventually. They couldn’t just...let him rot in here. Not forever. 

Even if they wanted to, Sendak would… He’d suspect foul play, and he’d come for him. Lotor just had to be patient.

 

 

“I mean, he’s definitely lying right?” Pidge asked. “So this should disrupt the processes of his frontal cortex -or whatever the Galra equivalent is -enough that he won’t be able to lie anymore.”

“Well, it’s worth a try!” Lance said. “If you need help keeping him awake, let me know. I’ve got some pretty awful early 2000’s pop music somewhere.”

“Hey, I’m not trying to torture all of us, too.”

“So, are we like...sure we should be doing this?” Hunk asked. “I mean-“

“He deserves far worse,” Allura fumed. “Get what you can out of him,” she said, turning to Pidge. 

“But-“

“Enough! He is a criminal, a murder, and worse,” Allura snapped. “I have a duty to my people to see justice done.”

 

 

There was no way to keep track of time in the cell. It was hard enough to keep track of time in space anyway, but there were no timepieces here, no windows through which he might be able to track their movement, and he was fairly certain that the Paladins weren’t feeding him on a regular schedule. 

They did feed him -they weren’t quite that cruel -but they didn’t allow him to sleep, either. 

At first, he’d thought it was just the lights, and when he was tired enough, he’d sleep anyway. 

After the first -it must have been days - one or two paladins showed up at a time, to start yelling accusations and questions and threats, never giving him more than a few minutes to himself. 

It was difficult to think. He’d gone for long periods of time with little or no sleep before, but that had been because he was busy working on something and had simply neglected to sleep. He’d had something to do; there was nothing in this cell but his thoughts and their accusations. 

“Tell us the truth!” Allura demanded.

“So now you want to listen,” Lotor said, trying to keep his usual masks up. He’d allowed Allura to see past them once, but never again. 

“Tell us!”

“I have been!” Gods, he just wanted to sleep. Just...five minutes would be enough, for now. He just needed a break. “You’re not fucking listening to me!”

The interrogations blurred together after a while, one face morphing into another as he watched, the questions always the same, and he always gave the same answers, but they never listened. They would never listen, and maybe it would have been easier if he could have shape-shifted, become more-

-More Altean. They’d believed that naive little girl, hadn’t they? 

He couldn’t. He’d tried so hard when he was younger, but he was as he was, and no amount of wishful thinking would change that. 

He’d been hesitant to ascribe malice to them, but now…

Now, what choice did he have? They weren’t friends, or allies, or anything other than enemies, and if he got the chance…

He’d slaughter them, or Sendak would. It would be nothing less than they deserved, after this. 

 

 

“So… I’m like 90 percent sure he’s hallucinating at this point,” Pidge said. “So I guess he’s really committed to his lies.”

“We don’t have time to deal with this,” Keith said. “It doesn’t matter right now, because we have to stop Sendak, and there’s no way in hell we’re giving him Voltron.”

“What about something he might want more?” Lance asked. 

“Go on,” Keith said. 

“Well, so. I’m pretty sure Lotor’s still technically the Emperor, and Sendak would probably have to like… kill him or something, if he wanted to be the Emperor, and since we’re pretty sure he does…”

“We trade Lotor to Sendak in exchange for him leaving Earth alone.”

“Exactly!” 

The unspoken truth that they all knew hung in the air between them: Sendak would kill Lotor, yes, but first… There was something between them, and Sendak would surely want to settle that score first. 

But none of them said it. None of them cared. Why would they? It was the same fate they’d consigned him to before, only now it was Sendak instead of Zarkon who would carry out the punishment.

“I don’t like giving up custody of Lotor,” Allura said. “He has crimes to answer for. But I suppose this is a rather neat solution.”

“Pretty sure Sendak’s gonna make him answer for a lot of other things, too, Princess,” Lance said. 

“You’re right. Arrange the transfer.”

 

 

“Paladins of Voltron,” Sendak growled. Three years of trying to figure out where Lotor had gone, and all signs pointed to Voltron.

And now they finally deigned to speak to him.

Only after he’d been laying siege to their planet for years. Self-centered brats. 

“We will not give you Voltron,” the Princess said haughtily. “But we have something you’ll want more.”

She told him, and of course he agreed; how could he not? 

When the Paladins signed off, it took all his restraint and discipline not to immediately start breaking things. He wanted to break something, hurt someone. He wanted Voltron’s blood for this.

 

 

They never took him from his cell, so when they did, shackling his wrists and gagging him, he knew something was up, even in his sleep-deprived haze.

It might have been years since he’d last slept, for all he knew. 

Millennia, perhaps. He could barely remember a life before this. 

“This is how you’re going to make up for what you did,” Allura told him. “By preventing more harm from coming to another innocent planet.”

Altea had never been innocent; no planet, no people was ever truly innocent. Anyone who studied history knew that. 

“But don’t worry,” she continued. “I’m sure Sendak will make sure justice is served.”

_ Sendak _ ? That...couldn’t be right. Did they know? They couldn’t know. He didn’t think he’d said anything, but then… 

He wasn’t even sure this was real, so who knew? 

 

 

Sendak had arrived to the meeting place early, escorted by several regiments of sentries, too anxious to wait much longer. He wasn’t usually anxious, but this was different.

He was still angry. He’d been angry for the last three years, angry and worried and grief-stricken and a thousand other emotions, none of them good.

And now…

He watched the shuttle set down. They’d been told not to bring the Lions, and apparently they’d listened. 

The Princess was the lead negotiator on this, but the rest of the Paladins were there, too.

And… Finally, they hauled Lotor out of the shuttle.

Even from so far away, he looked exhausted. He swayed on his feet, held upright only by the Paladins on either side of him. He looked like he was on the verge of passing out entirely and it was probably only his iron will keeping him awake at this point. 

“Commander Sendak,” the Princess said, when they were close enough. 

“Princess.” It was difficult not to betray all the anger he felt. He wanted to skin them, hurt them, make them pay… But some things were more important than his vengeance.

“Are we clear on the terms? You will leave Earth, and in exchange, you will take Lotor and do with him as you will. You must be eager to secure your claim to the Galra Throne, and we are eager to see justice served.”

“The terms were very clear,” Sendak said, though, after seeing Lotor like this, he didn’t really want to leave Earth. Justice did need to be served; Voltron needed to pay for this. 

“Very well.”

She stepped aside, and two of the Paladins pushed Lotor forward. His hands were bound, so when he lost his balance, he fell at Sendak’s feet.

The Paladins stepped back, waiting to see what he would do. He knew what they assumed he’d do to Lotor: torture him, humiliate him, execute him. Were they waiting for him to begin now?

He helped Lotor to his feet, and swiftly unshackled his wrists and removed the gag. “Lotor?”

Lotor’s eyes focused blearily. “Sendak? Is this real?”

Gods, what had they done to him? “Yes, my love.” He brought a hand up to Lotor’s cheek, and Lotor leaned into the touch, a broken purr starting low in his throat. Up close, his exhaustion was even more apparent: he was pale and clammy, and there were deep lines around his eyes, and dark shadows under them. Even the light in his eyes had dimmed. 

Sendak kissed him, a way to reassure them both, and pulled Lotor close. “You’re alright, my love. You’re safe now. I’m here, and I am never leaving you again.”

Lotor was shaking, trembling from exhaustion and who-knew-what-else. 

“We had a deal, Sendak,” Allura said, breaking them both out of the moment.

 

 

No one really knew what was going on. Weren't Lotor and Sendak rivals? So why…?

But it didn’t matter. They had a deal. 

“You have to leave Earth,” Allura continued. “Now. That’s what we agreed to.” 

Lotor turned, still mostly supported by Sendak. In a low, quiet voice that somehow still carried, he said, “I never agreed to that.”

His eyes glowed in anger, and even though he had to be past the point of exhaustion, his jaw and shoulders were set, and he’d never looked so Imperial before… There was no mistaking that he was the rightful Emperor. 

Louder, he said, “Arrest the Paladins of Voltron.”

The Paladins had not come unarmed, but.

They hadn’t expected this. 

 

 

Sendak cleared the halls on the flagship -Lotor’s pride had suffered enough; he didn’t need the crew to see him like this -and carried Lotor to their quarters. Lotor was barely awake, murmuring half-incoherent responses when Sendak said something. 

“You can sleep in a few minutes, I promise,” Sendak said. “You’re going to take a bath, and then we’ll get you into bed.” 

“Shower,” Lotor insisted. 

“You can’t stand up for long enough.”

“Help me, then.”

So that’s what Sendak did. He couldn’t deny Lotor anything most of the time anyway. Now, though… After all of This…

He was just tucking Lotor into bed when Lotor grabbed his wrist. “Stay while I fall asleep,” he whispered. 

“Of course,” Sendak said, crawling into bed behind Lotor, curling up around him protectively. He kissed Lotor’s cheek. “I’ll be here when you wake up, too.”

Lotor made a sleepy, pleased noise, and then his breathing evened out.

Sendak waited a few minutes, to make sure Lotor was sound asleep, before getting up again. He had business he wanted to attend to while Lotor slept. He bent down to kiss Lotor on the forehead; Lotor didn’t stir.

Good; he looked like he needed sleep badly.

He’d be back before Lotor woke up.

 

 

“What are you going to do to us?” The Black Paladin demanded.

A good question, and fortunately Sendak had a pretty good  idea. “You will be tried for your crimes.”

“You can’t do that! We’re-“ the Green Paladin began.

“Voltron. Yes, I know,” Sendak replied. “But that does not mean that you are above the laws, standards, and morals of the known universe. If anything, it means you must be held to a greater standard of conduct. To set an example for the rest of us.” 

“And by whose authority-“

“Right now, Emperor Lotor. But the Coalition will be informed, of course, and I suspect they will be given ultimate jurisdiction in the matter.”

The paladins visibly relaxed, and Sendak grinned sharply. “Don’t act so relieved. The Emperor and I have a personal investment in seeing justice served.”

“‘The Emperor and I’,” The Red Paladin parroted snidely. “Yeah, well, we should have killed your- your boyfriend or fuckbuddy or whatever when we had the chance.”

It was difficult not to let his rage get the best of him, but Sendak was better than that. “You are lucky  _ my husband _ is still alive. If it were up to me, you would have been executed already. Fortunately for you,  _ my husband _ , the Emperor, believes in the pursuit of justice for all, regardless of race or affiliation.”

“Voltron is-“

“Any escape attempt will be seen as an admission of guilt. If you aren’t guilty, then you have nothing to fear from a trial run by your allies.”

He turned on his heel and left, to return to Lotor. 

 

 

Lotor woke slowly, almost afraid to come awake completely. Perhaps everything that had come before was some bizarre sleep-deprived hallucination. A waking dream of sorts.

The room was completely dark, so dark he couldn’t make out anything even with Galra night vision. 

But he could feel Sendak’s arm draped over his waist from behind, the solid bulk of his husband pressed against his back. 

He relaxed a little. It didn’t matter where he was, really, as long as he had Sendak with him. 

“Lotor?” Sendak asked sleepily. 

Lotor hummed a soft response. He still felt tired, not fully awake, and it might be a few days before he was completely himself again. 

Sendak nuzzled the back of his neck. “Feeling better?”

“Mm. Mostly.”

“Good.” Sendak’s hand roamed over his body, not sexually, just...like he was checking to make sure Lotor was physically  _ there _ . 

“How long was I asleep for?” 

“A little over a day. I figured it was best just to let you sleep.”

“Mm.”

“You can go back to sleep if you want. I’ve got a handle on everything, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“No, it’s...fine. I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure.” 

Lotor pressed a little closer. “I just want...you, really. That’s it.”

“I’m here,” he murmured. “I’m here. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.”

“They didn’t,” Lotor said softly. “Not really.”

“You were about to pass out when they brought you to me! What did they do, if not hurt you?”

“They just...kept me awake.”

“For how long?”

“I’m...not sure. However long I was in their custody.”

“A little over two weeks, then,” Sendak supplied. “What happened?”

Lotor shook his head. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now. Later, I promise. Just…”

“Alright,” Sendak said. “Later.” He held Lotor quietly for a few minutes, a low purr building in his chest. 

“I love you,” Lotor said softly. “That was the only thing that kept me going. I knew you’d find out, and that you’d...come after me, or-  _ something _ . I knew you wouldn’t let me rot in there forever.”

“I wish I had known sooner.” He paused, seemingly hesitant about something. “Lotor, it’s been three years for me.”

Lotor blinked. “Three... _ years _ ?” 

He felt Sendak’s nod. 

“I fought Voltron,” Lotor said finally. “In and around the Rift. It must have… Three years? Is the Empire still-?”

“I did what I could,” Sendak said. “But it will take some work. I didn’t have the authority to hold it together.”

“We’ll fix it together,” Lotor said. 

“I love you,” Sendak said, and it was also a promise to stay by Lotor’s side, through whatever followed. 

“Did I dream that I had Voltron arrested?”

Sendak let out a surprised laugh. “No, that was real.”

“That’s going to be a nightmare to deal with,” Lotor sighed. “Their egos rival my father’s. But what’s done is done, and… This must be done. You understand that, right?”

“Of course. This is a neater solution than just killing them, martyring them. Expose their crimes for all the universe to see.”

“This is the reason we work so well together, darling. We operate on the same wavelength.” He turned over, facing Sendak. Not that there was much to see; the lights were still off. “But yes. I cannot allow their self-centered moralism continue. It is dangerous, and I will not let these children tell me how to run my empire, especially after they tried to assassinate me.”

“They tried to assassinate you?” Sendak asked in a deceptively calm voice.

“The product of their self-centered moralism. Just one more crime to add to the indictment. I suppose they had a change of heart halfway through, which I how I ended up in their  _ brig- _ “

“-Being  _ tortured _ ,” Sendak finished. 

Which was fair; sleep deprivation was known to be an effective, yet cruel, torture method across the universe. 

“But,” Sendak continued, “I’ve already contacted the Coalition on your behalf, and they’ve agreed to review the charges with you. They haven’t promised anything more, but I suspect that the charges will be compelling enough to warrant a trial.”

“And it’s not as if we cannot produce evidence. That damn castle has security cameras every 15 feet, and the Lions have cockpit recorders. But enough of that,” Lotor said, rubbing his cheek against the side of  Sendak’s neck. “Of all the people they could have sold me out to, I’m glad it was you.”

“There’s hardly anyone left for them to bargain with,” Sendak pointed out. “There’s the witch, but otherwise…”

“Like I said,” Lotor said, “I’m glad it was you.” He sighed. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” It carried different weight since, apparently, it had been three years for him. Perhaps that was why Sendak pulled him just a little closer. ”Lotor…”

“Hm?”

He kissed Lotor very gently, terribly gently. “If this isn’t what you want, tell me.”

“I want it,” Lotor said. “I want you. Always, but especially now.”

“I’ll take care of you.” 

“I know, my darling. You always do.”

Sendak turned the lights on, just enough to see by, just enough to make his remaining eye glow softly with reflected light. “I hope that’s alright? I want to see you…”

Lotor smiled wryly. “I’ve been through worse, darling. You don’t have to be so careful.”

Sendak’s ears twitched in anger; he didn’t like being reminded that he couldn’t protect Lotor from everything.

“I was fine then, and I’ll be fine now,” Lotor continued, before Sendak could say anything. “Remind me that you love me.”

“I do, I love you so much, Lotor. I don’t know what I would have done if…” He trailed off, burying his face in Lotor’s hair. “I’d be lost without you.”

“I’m here,” Lotor whispered. 

Sendak guided him onto his back, propped up and cushioned by what was probably every single pillow onboard; it was a little like floating around in zero gravity, weightless and free. 

He spread his legs to allow Sendak between them, but Sendak just hovered over him, kissing him desperately. That was his way of telling Lotor exactly how afraid he’d been. 

“Do you want-?” Sendak breathed finally.

“Yes,” Lotor replied. He needed Sendak, needed to feel close to him, needed that safety and comfort and  _ love… _

“Let me know,” he began, looking very serious, “if you need me to stop, or-“

“I will,” Lotor promised. “You know I will.” He couldn’t remember Sendak ever being this reluctant, this cautious. “Nothing’s changed, darling. I still love you, and I still want you. Everything else is...out there, but it’s just us, here, now.”

It was similar enough to what Sendak told him when he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to be in the moment that it made Sendak smile, just a little.

Lotor guided his face down for a kiss, slow and sweet and perfect. When he let Sendak breathe, Sendak didn’t go far; he just rested his forehead against Lotor’s, taking a few deep breaths. 

When he finally did enter Lotor, it was more of the same: slow, sweet, perfect. Every touch was meaningful, somehow, a reminder that Sendak was here and that he loved him. 

They didn’t usually have sex like this. It was usually rough, wild, fast, but this was no less passionate. And maybe it was exactly what Lotor needed right now. What they  _ both _ needed right now. 

When it was over, they stay tangled in each other, unwilling to be parted again.

“I’m sorry,” Sendak whispered, his head tucked under Lotor’s chin. “I’m sorry, I tried. I did everything I could, but I couldn’t- I can’t do this without you, Lotor, I tried, but I couldn’t do it.”

Lotor couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Sendak cry; it had been a while. “Shh,” he soothed, raking his fingers through Sendak’s crest the way he liked. “It’s alright, I’m here, you don’t have to do this alone, shh…”

Sendak clung to him even after he cried himself out. It was clear to Lotor that recent events had shaken him badly, and that he needed this; Lotor was more than happy to oblige. 

“I love you,” Lotor said softly. 

“I love you, too,” Sendak said. “I love you so much, Lotor. Please let me stay by your side. I can’t do this again.”

“Of course you can stay, darling. The war is over, and even if it wasn’t… I want you by my side. I don’t trust anyone else to watch my back.” Once more safe, warm, and comfortable, it was difficult to keep his eyes open. 

Sendak kissed his forehead. “Go back to sleep, my love. I’ll be right here.”

Lotor began purring even as he closed his eyes and nestled closer. 

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt: So your ask about how Sendak looks sad and wants his husband back got me thinking how fucking satisfying it would be if the paladins were keeping Lotor prisoner somewhere (and just won’t let him explain himself or simply don’t believe him) they’re deliberately torturing him through sleep deprivation at this point, the good guy act   
> Has been dropped, basically, or they really just have no concept of honor or justice. And they’re dragging him around wherever they want and then Sendak attacks earth and Lotor is still in their custody but nobody knows that. And then the paladins decide to use the old tried and true method of solving problems: let’s sell Lotor out to Sendak! He’ll want him to secure his claim as emperor (cause he has to kill him) and he’d surely love to torture and humiliate him first! Brilliant!   
> Except that... that’s Sendak’s husband whom he loves and cherishes and when Lotor is dragged in front of him and he looks like he’s about to pass out from exhaustion he’s about to skin the paladins alive for every harm inflicted on his love   
> And then they start bargaining and Sendak has to agree to leave earth alone to get Lotor and he hates it but he has no choice. So he agrees and they carelessly toss Lotor at his feet and he immediately picks him up and removes his bonds and gag and hugs him and kisses him. And the paladins are confused but go all “well you gotta leave us alone now, that’s what we agreed”   
> But then Lotor, who is being held up partially by Sendak because he’s so tired, says, very quietly but in a tone that still carries “I didn’t agree to that” and then he has the paladins of Voltron arrested for treachery and war crimes and torture (which is also a war crime) and then he gets dicked down probably, after he had some nice cuddle sleep.


End file.
